How to Avoid Getting Sick This Year

Cold and flu season is here, and it’s really easy to pick up infections while you’re out and about. That’s why you should watch out for these top 9 germiest public places...

Touch a germ-infected surface, then rub your nose or mouth, and the next thing you know, microbes are dancing the mambo in your body.

With the cold and flu and other run-of-the-mill bugs crawling about public places year round, germaphobes have plenty to worry about.

Because viruses and bacteria live almost everywhere, going anywhere people gather can boost your chances of getting sick, says Philip Tierno, Ph.D., author of The Secret Life of Germs (Atria) and director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University’s Langone Medical Center.

“We encounter about 60,000 types of germs every year,” he says.

Cold and flu season is here, and it’s really easy to pick up infections while you’re out and about. That’s why you should watch out for these top 9 germiest public places...

But you can protect yourself and your children by taking steps to prevent infection by using:

Hand sanitizer gel

Disinfecting hand wipes

Antibacterial wipes for surfaces

For easy access, stash these in your car, purse and office drawer.

Then, when you go out, watch out for these germiest public hotspots...

1. Grocery StoreGermiest Items: Shopping cart handles

Shopping cart handles are a breeding ground for infectious viruses and gut-wrenching bacteria.

About 70%-80% of the shopping carts tested nationwide had E. coli, says Charles Gerba, Ph.D., a University of Arizona microbiologist who spends a lot of time studying germs in public places.

“Customers may sneeze, wipe their noses, then touch the cart handles,” says Lola Stamm, M.S., Ph.D., a microbiologist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Shopping cart handles are also contaminated by children’s dirty hands. And by leaky meat packages other customers tossed into your cart.

Germ-free fix: Carry sanitary wipes to swipe the tabletop, menus and high chair when you’re seated.

Cold and flu season is here, and it’s really easy to pick up infections while you’re out and about. That’s why you should watch out for these top 9 germiest public places...

3. MallsGermiest item: Escalator and other handrails.

How often do you hang onto the escalator handrails while catching a ride at a shopping mall or airport? Hands off: They’re teeming with germs, according to a 2015 study conducted in New York City by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, and published in the journal Cell Systems.

So your children are probably picking up and spreading plenty of germs whenever they visit a store.

Whether you put your child into the cart shelf facing you, or allow them to “drive” their own kid-friendly cart, just know that dozens, if not hundreds, of children have been there since it was last cleaned or disinfected.

Germ-free fix: Use disinfecting wipes on handlebars and every inch of the seat area that your child may touch.

Cold and flu season is here, and it’s really easy to pick up infections while you’re out and about. That’s why you should watch out for these top 9 germiest public places...

Playgrounds are germ minefields. Kids touch everything they see and often put them in their mouths.

The largest threat is from fecal bacteria from bird poop on playground equipment and diaper-wearing tots, Gerba says.

Another kid-friendly hot zone: petting zoos and exhibits with animals infected with E. coli, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Germ-free fix: Wash hands thoroughly or use hand sanitizer after returning from playground, using the bathroom and changing diapers. (Rub hands together for 20 seconds under clean running water, the CDC advises.)

Cold and flu season is here, and it’s really easy to pick up infections while you’re out and about. That’s why you should watch out for these top 9 germiest public places...

8. Libraries
Germiest item: Countertops and computer surfaces

Libraries appear to be tidy, sterile places, but they crawl with as many germs as a fast-food restaurant.

Why so filthy? Lots of people shuffle through and peruse books, log on to computers and touch countertops, Gerba says.

Germ-free fix: Use hand sanitizer or wash your hands after thumbing through books or touching countertops.

9. Cruise ships Germiest item: Handrails

Cruise ships are like floating cities, packed with thousands of people in a small space. That also makes them incubators for viruses and bacteria.

Cold and flu season is here, and it’s really easy to pick up infections while you’re out and about. That’s why you should watch out for these top 9 germiest public places...

Over 90% of diarrheal disease outbreaks on cruise ships are caused by the highly contagious norovirus, according to the CDC.

“Some of the largest outbreaks occurred in 2002-2006, when new strains of norovirus emerged,” says Capt. Jaret Ames, chief of the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program. Since then, all cruise ships are more thoroughly inspected for bacteria and viruses, at least twice a year by the CDC.

Noroviruses, which cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, are resistant to routine cleaning procedures and they’re easily transmitted in places people congregate, such as dining rooms, drinking fountains and shared restrooms.

Trouble is that they’re hard to avoid on a cruise ship.

“As soon as you step out of the cabin you’re in public area,” Ames points out.

Handrails pose the biggest infection risk because they’re among the first surfaces passengers touch when they board ship, Ames says. The viruses are most often brought on board by embarking passengers and crew.

Germ-free fix: Wash hands frequently throughout the day and before touching your mouth or face, especially when smoking and eating. Is Your Hygiene Heinous?
Good hygiene cannot be overestimated. Your health, not to mention your reputation, depends on it. Find out where your habits rank on the hygiene meter.

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